Embark on a gripping journey in Dragon’s Dogma 2 with the “Off the Pilfered Path” quest, where your choices shape the fate of the young urchin Hugo and unravel a tangled web of betrayal, revenge, and redemption. Navigate through intertwining quests, confront deadly foes, and decide Hugo’s future-will he find justice, survival, or a chance at an honest life? This walkthrough guides you through every step, from freeing Hugo in Bakbattahl Gaol to the climactic showdown with his treacherous mentor Lanzo, revealing multiple endings based on your actions and alliances.
Our Dragon’s Dogma 2 guide will show you how to start “Off the Pilfered Path,” the quests you should finish before starting it, the steps to complete it, and how to help Hugo find a job.
Before starting ’Off the Pilfered Path,’ do these quests
Before starting the “Off the Pilfered Path” quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2, it is essential to complete several prerequisite quests to unlock the full story and all possible outcomes. These include the Vermund-based side quest “Tolled to Rest,” the Battahl side quest “Mercy Among Thieves,” the Bakbattahl side quest “Shadowed Prayers,” and the Battahl main quest “Nation of the Lambent Flame.” Additionally, completing “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or “Short-Sighted Ambition” will influence the quest’s endings and provide more options for Hugo’s future. Ensuring you have the Battahl Residence Permit and completing these quests will prepare you to navigate the complex narrative and timed elements of “Off the Pilfered Path” effectively.
“Off the Pilfered Path” ties into several other quests – some directly and some indirectly. And the outcomes of those other quests influence how “Pilfered Path” ends. The timed part of “Off the Pilfered Path” doesn’t start until about halfway through, so you have as much time as you need to complete everything else.
’Every Rose Has Its Thorn’
While you’re in Vernworth completing Captain Brant’s first set of quests, you’ll complete the quests “The Stolen Throne” and “An Unsettling Encounter,” during which you’ll meet the owner of the Rose Chateau Bordelrie, Wilhelmina. (In our experience, you also have to complete “A Veil of Gossamer Clouds” before this quest will trigger.)
Talk to her at the bordelrie and give her some gifts (like Courtly clothes and flowers) and she’ll take a liking to you. If you visit on a subsequent day, she won’t be in her room and an employee named Rolf will tell you she’s busy. Use the painting in the southwest of her room to spy – just like you did during “The Stolen Throne” – to start the quest.
Over the course of “Every Rose,” you’ll get the chance to either help or betray Wilhelmina. For the purposes of “Off the Pilfered Path,” you should help her by giving her the Murder Report.
’Short-Sighted Ambition’
When you reach Bakbattahl, you’ll find an apothecary run by a man named Isaac. He’ll ask for a ripened quince to help his eyesight so he can read a (definitely not cursed) grimoire. The next day, he’ll ask you to find the other volume of the tome – you can buy it from Ibrahim’s Scrap Shop in the Checkpoint Rest Town.
When you return to Isaac’s Wares with the second volume, you’ll have a choice. Give him the actual grimoire or a forgery you had Ibrahim make. If you give him the real book, things go poorly and Isaac’s Wares will close down. If you give him the fake, life will go back to (mostly) normal for Isaac and his family.
’Mercy Among Thieves’
Since “Off the Pilfered Path” wraps up the events of “Mercy Among Thieves,” you’ll obviously have to complete that one first. On the Battahl side of the Checkpoint Rest Town, there’s a young boy named Toumi. Give him food twice, and you’ll be able to talk to a couple of people on the other side of the road. In turn, they’ll point you to Lyssandro who asks you to track down the bandit gang named the Coral Snakes.
There’s only one outcome to “Mercy Among Thieves” – the Coral Snakes Leader Lanzo betrays a boy named Hugo and then Hugo gets arrested.
How to start ’Off the Pilfered Path’ in Dragon’s Dogma 2
To start the “Off the Pilfered Path” quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2, you must first complete several prerequisite quests, including “Shadowed Prayers,” “Mercy Among Thieves,” and the Vermund-based “Tolled to Rest” or either “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or “Short-Sighted Ambition.” Once these are done, head to Bakbattahl Gaol and speak with the head guard Ekratt at the entrance to pick up the quest. Inside the gaol, talk to Hugo and other key prisoners to gather information, then proceed with the quest objectives. This quest continues the story from “Mercy Among Thieves” and involves helping Hugo decide his future, with multiple possible endings influenced by your prior choices and actions.
Head to the northeast of Bakbattahl to find the Bakbattahl Gaol. (There is a back way into the goal from the Research Lab, but this quest starts at the front door.) When you approach, you’ll meet a guard named Ekratt who will lead you inside.
Should you offer Hugo guidance?
Offering Hugo guidance in the “Off the Pilfered Path” quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a pivotal choice that shapes his future. After helping Hugo escape from Bakbattahl Gaol, you can advise him on how to rebuild his life, which includes directing him to potential job opportunities such as Isaac’s Wares or the Rose Chateau Bordelrie. This guidance not only influences the quest’s outcome but also determines Hugo’s fate-whether he leads an honest life or remains lost to his past. To offer effective guidance, players should complete prerequisite quests like “Tolled to Rest” and “Shadowed Prayers” to unlock key information and characters that make Hugo’s escape and subsequent choices possible. Ultimately, guiding Hugo provides a meaningful resolution to his story, rewarding players with experience, gold, and unique items.
Before you do anything with Hugo – who is in the cell directly ahead of you – take a left. A man named Brefft is in the second cell on the left. Talk to him (or, really, just let him talk) a few times to exhaust his dialogue, and he’ll tell you all about Lanzo and Hugo’s past. He’ll also let you know where you can find the Coral Snakes now.
Speak with Hugo after that, and you’ll have the chance to tell him what you learned. If you don’t tell him anything, he’ll stay in the jail. Tell him what you learned, leave the gaol, and then go rest until the next morning.
Head back to the jail. When you get close to Hugo’s cell, a guard will tell you that Hugo killed Brefft and then escaped.
Head straight for the Ancient Battleground north of the Checkpoint Rest Town – this is the timed part of the quest. If you’re quick and it’s still morning, you can catch the oxcart to the checkpoint and travel the rest of the way on foot. If you’ve got a portcrystal at the Sphinx’s Mountain Shrine, you can teleport there and backtrack down.
When you reach the castle at the north end of the Ancient Battleground, you’ll find Lanzo waiting for you. If you’re quick about getting there, you’ll beat Hugo and you can fight and kill Lanzo yourself. If you’re too slow, Hugo will get there first and he and Lanzo will kill each other.
What job to offer Hugo in Dragon’s Dogma 2
In Dragon’s Dogma 2, after helping Hugo escape from jail during the “Off the Pilfered Path” quest, you have two main job options to offer him to set him on an honest path. The first option is to have Hugo work at Isaac’s shop in Bakbattahl, which becomes available if you completed the “Short-Sighted Ambition” quest with Isaac and triggered its bad ending, leaving Isaac’s family gone and the shop vacant. The second option is to have Hugo work as a guard for Wilhelmina at the Rose Chateau Bordelrie in Vernworth, unlocked by completing the “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” quest and romancing Wilhelmina. If neither questline is completed, Hugo will have no job and may revert to a life of crime, so it’s essential to finish one of these questlines before assigning him a job to complete the quest and secure his future.
If you get there first and kill Lanzo, Hugo will arrive immediately after. Your job becomes to set him on a better path and he’ll ask what a person like him could do. You have a couple of choices here:
- Don’t offer a job, and Hugo will wander off to fall back into a life of crime.
- If you completed “Short-Sighted Ambition” and Isaac’s family died, you can offer him a job at Isaac’s Wares in Bakbattahl. If Isaac’s family survived, this won’t be an option.
- If you completed “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and helped Wilhelmina, you can send him to work at the Myrmecoleon. If you didn’t help her, this won’t be an option either.
For your efforts, you’ll receive a White-Leather Kerchief, 4,500 XP, 7,000 gold, and Hugo’s Frosted Edges daggers.
What secrets does the ‘Off the Pilfered Path’ quest reveal about Hugo’s fate in Dragon’s Dogma 2
The “Off the Pilfered Path” quest in Dragon’s Dogma 2 reveals several crucial secrets about Hugo’s fate, shaped by your choices throughout the mission. Hugo, a young bandit yearning for an honest life, is caught in a web of betrayal involving his mentor Lanzo and the Coral Snakes gang, who are revealed to be child snatchers that killed Hugo’s parents and raised him to be loyal to them. This truth can be shared with Hugo or withheld, influencing the quest’s outcome.
Key secrets include:
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If you tell Hugo the truth about his parents and confront Lanzo at the Ancient Battleground in time, you can help Hugo kill Lanzo and offer him a legitimate job, setting him on a path to redemption and a fresh start.
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If you fail to arrive in time or do not intervene, Hugo and Lanzo kill each other, leaving Hugo dead and the quest unresolved except for a grim report from town guards.
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Helping Hugo escape prison without telling him the truth can lead to his death if he is attacked by guards or left without a job, causing him to fall back into crime.
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The best outcome involves bribing jailers to release Hugo peacefully, not telling him the harsh truth immediately, and securing him a job either at Isaac’s shop or Rose Chateau Bordelrie, depending on other quest completions. This offers Hugo a chance at a stable life away from banditry.
Thus, the quest uncovers Hugo’s tragic past and presents multiple divergent futures, from death and vengeance to redemption and new beginnings, all hinging on the player’s choices and timing.
Does helping Hugo escape guarantee his future as an honest man in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Helping Hugo escape in Dragon’s Dogma 2 does not guarantee his future as an honest man. While you can free him from Bakbattahl Gaol by bribing the head jailer or unlocking his cell, Hugo’s ultimate fate depends heavily on whether you offer him a job and how you handle the truth about his past.
If you help him escape but do not offer him a job or tell him about his parents’ fate, Hugo may end up loitering around aimlessly or even dying if guards attack him. Without a stable job or guidance, he is likely to fall back into crime or meet a grim end. Conversely, the best outcome involves either helping Hugo kill his betrayer Lanzo and then recommending a job, or securing his peaceful release and offering him employment at places like the Rose Chateau Bordelrie or Isaac’s Wares, which can set him on a path toward an honest life.
Therefore, simply helping Hugo escape is not enough; securing his future requires timely intervention, providing him with work, and managing the delicate truth about his past.
